$24 Million Government Contract ‘Unusual and Inconsistent’: NZ Auditor-General

A contract awarded to a charity run by a well-known New Zealand comedian has been questioned by the Auditor-General, who found it “unusual and inconsistent,” saying it was decided “without an open and transparent process to assess which type of service would best meet the policy objective, which providers might be able to deliver that service, and the appropriate amount to pay.” Usually, the government would specify a service it wanted delivered, and the expected outcomes from that service—in this case, the delivery of youth mental health programmes—and then invite organisations to tender for its delivery. But this process was not followed when, shortly after the Coalition government was formed, it was announced that the “I Am Hope” charity would receive a $24 million (US$14.6 million) contract to deliver the service....